Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/122387
r e T a i l i n g T o d a y throttling up Jos. A. bAnk clothiers is AccelerAting to its pre-recession growth pAce By Steve Bergsman T he numbers of clothing stores that cater to women are virtually endless, while those stores dedicated to the male of the species can be counted on one hand, pretty much. the opening of a women's apparel store attracts lots of attention, too. not so for men, and this is odd, because one of the fastest-growing clothing chains of this past decade has been for the guys. market Street, San franciSco 112 SCT / M A y 2 0 1 3 When bob hensley joined Jos. A. bank clothiers in 1999, the hampstead, md.–based men's chain was operating fewer than 100 stores. today the total exceeds 600, and though the company's store openings did slow during the recession, the economy's recovery could mean a return to growth similar to the boom years. "We were at full speed through 2008," said hensley, an executive vice president. "then we cautiously pulled back. in 2009 we opened 14 stores. When we saw we could weather the storm of economic challenges, we began to accelerate openings again, back to a pattern of 30 to 50 new stores annually." last year the retailer opened 46 stores, and expectations for this year are for 45 to 50. "it's tougher to find places, because there is not the automatic shopping center growth that we saw in 2002 through 2007, but as the better markets are close to being full, we are looking at alternative types of opportunities or where we can position between existing stores," hensley said. "that begins by making sure we have the right demographics that could be even better served if we had a store that was more convenient to our consumer." under the old model, one could usually find a Jos. A. bank near women's retailers such as Ann taylor loft, chico's and talbots. but the expansion of such chains has slowed as fewer lifestyle centers get built. now Jos. A. bank is considering such cotenants as restaurants and the better grocery stores. occasionally, the chain will go into a mall, but management